Series Silverstone news 2009-08-18

TITLE RACE HEADS TO SILVERSTONE AS EX-F1 STAR JOHNNY HERBERT MAKES
SERIES DEBUT
The countdown has begun: there are less than two weeks to go before the
UK's premier motor racing series - the HiQ MSA British Touring Car
Championship - arrives in...

TITLE RACE HEADS TO SILVERSTONE AS EX-F1 STAR JOHNNY HERBERT MAKES
SERIES DEBUT

The countdown has begun: there are less than two weeks to go before the
UK's premier motor racing series - the HiQ MSA British Touring Car
Championship - arrives in Northamptonshire for its latest exhilarating
round at the world-famous Silverstone circuit on Sunday 30 August.

Three races await the BTCC field around Silverstone's short but highly
dramatic National track that provides fans with some of the best views of
the action all season.

Free admission for children, complimentary grandstand seating and access
to the BTCC paddock plus easy access from the M1 and M40 motorways are
all sure to mean a bumper bank holiday weekend crowd.

And Silverstone also comes at a crucial stage of the season for the
leading drivers, headed by Team RAC BMW driver Colin Turkington and
Vauxhall's Italian megastar Fabrizio Giovanardi. This event marks the
eighth out of ten rounds on the calendar, meaning nerves are sure to be
on edge as the top names scrap for every last point so as to keep up
their championship hopes alive.

Live national television coverage of the event on the ITV4 channel will
only serve to heighten the tension on the track - those same pictures
will also be broadcast onto a giant screen at the track so the public can
keep fully abreast of all the fender-bending action.

Northern Irishman Turkington is in pole position to win his first BTCC
Drivers' title but his championship lead on Sunday was brought down to
just nine points by the reigning champion Giovanardi at the Knockhill
track in Scotland.

Oxford's Jason Plato is also still in with a chance of the title and many
tip his and Warwickshire team-mate Mat Jackson's Racing Silverline
Chevrolets to be the cars to beat around Silverstone's high-speed
lay-out.

Adding to the star names on the grid will be one that is synonymous with
Silverstone - Johnny Herbert. The winner of the British Formula 1 Grand
Prix at Silverstone in 1995 will be making his BTCC race debut, having
signed for the Team Dynamics Honda squad.

An open paddock policy means the public will be able to meet Herbert and
all the drivers during a specially organised autograph session on race
day as well.

And while the BTCC's three races headline the bill of action at
Silverstone on Sunday 30 August, the crowds will also be able to savour
another seven races from the hard-fought Ginetta Junior, Ginetta G50,
Porsche Carrera, Renault Clio and Formula Renault support categories.

Race day admission is just £23.00 per adult in advance and free for
children aged 15 and under. Tickets can be booked online at
www.silverstone.co.uk or by calling the hotline on 08704 588 200.